This is a blog about the small town of Tucker, Georgia, which is located just outside the major metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. On March 13, 2013, the residents of Tucker learned that a small group of politically motivated individuals who lived nearby wanted to incorporate using Tucker's commercial areas and leaving many of the long-time residents on the outskirts of the new city. This is the story of how the residents have fought back to preserve history and their own community.

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Dunwoody Seeks Final Nail for Tucker's Coffin on Nov. 2

Nancy Jester, former DeKalb School Board member, kicked off her campaign for DeKalb County Commissioner yesterday, thanking the following people whom she called her "host committee:"

So far, we have one option for an Elaine Boyer replacement
on the DeKalb County commission. Nancy Jester from
Dunwoody announced she will be running for the office.

Sen. Fran Millar

Sen. Josh McKoon

Rep. Mike Jacobs

Rep. Tom Taylor

Councilman Terry Nall

Councilman Denny Shortal

Councilman Doug Thompson

In case you aren't up to speed, Sen. Fran Millar (R), of Dunwoody, listed on the top of her host list, is the person who filed a bill for the city of Lakeside with only one day left for Tucker residents to formulate a response. Rep. Mike Jacobs (R), of Brookhaven, is the person who has since picked up the fight and is expected to carry the Lakeside torch forward into the upcoming legislative session. And, Rep. Tom Taylor (R), of Dunwoody, is the person who wants to push for city school systems in Georgia, but only for a few select areas formed after a particular date.Why are these state Representatives and Senators so interested in forming new cities and new city schools? Because they represent the best interests of the Dunwoody community. And Dunwoody is facing more problems based on their decision to incorporate then what they care to admit. Traffic is a big issue as well as increasing crime. And, the zealous building developers have been working non-stop without realizing that businesses are not flocking to them as originally predicted. Why? Mostly because of the failing school system. But, don't believe us... here it is in the exact words of Tom Taylor himself as he talks about the connection he sees between economic development and the perceived quality of education provided in our schools: http://youtu.be/tlMAcOwXE4M. The belief held by Dunwoody politicians is that the problem in education for DeKalb has nothing to do with their schools or leadership. They do not acknowledge that a big part of the problem in our schools is the very fact that there is this attitude of "mine" and "yours" instead of treating the entire system as "ours" and looking out for every neighborhood equally and fairly.It's not about the schools? Really?As much as Lakeside City Alliance and other city advocates try to ignore or deny that the school system is the number one reason they are trying to incorporate, there really isn't any other valid reason TO incorporate. Education has an impact on home values, which impacts how much money the politicians collect in taxes, which pays for just about everything they do. It also impacts the investment properties bought by those who could afford to invest before the market crashed. So, it comes as no surprise to learn about the many connections the city advocates have to education, does it?As the masks are starting to come off and we are learning more about who is behind the efforts to incorporate, we are seeing more and more individuals involved with the schools who are now involved with the effort to form cities. And the fact that they are trying so hard to keep it a secret should be a red flag that something they are doing is not on the up and up. The "compromise map" that was the negotiated split between Tucker and Lakeside was the closest thing to being fair that we have had so far except that it added areas to Tucker that simply have never been considered Tucker. What is the impact of adding these areas and how can Tucker AND Briarcliff AND Lakeside all be viable to move ahead in the legislature if only one of them gets the commercial area of Northlake?Will there be ANYONE in Tucker stepping up to challenge Nancy Jester for this commissioner seat? And, in the meantime, WHO will be representing the TUCKER community between NOW and the November election? When Interim CEO Lee May vacated his commissioner seat to take the temporary seat of CEO, his former commission district went unrepresented for months. After complaints escalated, an appointment was made to fill the seat until the next election. But, no such appointment seems to be on the horizon for District 1. And, most of the media is not even reporting District 1 as being representative of the Tucker area at all. Here is an example:The district covers much of north DeKalb County, including Dunwoody, and a significant portion of Brookhaven. (Reporter Newspapers, Sept. 5)According to Reporter Newspapers, Elaine Boyer's Chief of Staff, Bob Lundsten and another District 1 staff member would stay in place until a new commissioner is elected. One glimmer of hope is that Lundsten has been vocal in his support for Tucker and its right to be simply left alone. Here is Lundsten at an early Tucker meeting:

And here is a blog from Lundsten's own blog site where he calls out the injustice that Lakeside is trying to do to Tucker:

"The Lakeside /Tucker fight is an interesting one. For the first time the house will get to pick one group of citizens over another. They have never before faced city bills with overlapping maps. So concerning was this issue that Rep Meadows appeared at the Legislative Affairs Committee and tabled the Lakeside bill; "too many maps and last minute changes". As of today that has not changed and these maps have not been reviewed by a single citizen who will be impacted by these city votes.

6-8 folks, non elected and a couple of high paid lobbyists will determine the fate for over 100K citizens. However the leaders of both city hood initiatives have reached an agreement, so that should make the 100k people in these proposed cities feel good.But this being the capital and having only 2 days before all these fine folks head home, a miracle occurred. An event fitting of the Easter Season, these bills rose from the dead to sit on the right hand of a single Senator and a couple of House Representatives. How cool is that? Anything is possible down here. In a greater miracle still not a single member of the house that will vote to pass these bills lives or even REPRESENTS anyone who does live in these proposed cities.

We have come 180 degrees from the fiasco that the democrats created when for 25 years screwed around with the creation of the City of Sandy Springs. Republicans now have control and are doing exactly the same thing that those dreaded democrats did back then.

Don't get me wrong, I support cities in DeKalb, but this process just does not pass the smell test anymore.

25 years ago we saw the enemy and over took them. Today we see the enemy and it is us."

If only Lundsten wasn't mentioned in some of the allegations against Boyer, we might have a glimmer of hope that he might make a run for the office of commissioner himself. Alas, his actions do not seem to match his words and so we're back to the drawing board, not to mention the fact that he also is a Dunwoody resident and even blogs under the title "Dunwoody Farmer Bob."There are only a few days left. Qualifying will begin on Monday, September 8 and run through noon on Wednesday, September 10. The official posting by the DeKalb County Board of Registrations and Elections can be found here

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